Harry Truman is Not Fun

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/11/1175403633/truman-committee-became-the-model-for-scrutinizing-giant-public-expenditures

This interview was absurd and offensive and belies the claims by the Right that NPR is 'Left-wing' or somehow anti-American. The interview is a whitewash of Truman's record. The notion that somehow he was an anti-corruption fighter – while failing to mention his well-established record of corruption back in Missouri (and later during at least his first term in the US Senate) reveals the farcical nature of the interview and NPR's role in reporting history.

Drummond may think Truman is 'fun' but others in possession of some kind of moral compass and knowledge of his context remain appalled at his inhumanity and his mass murder. Truman lied about Hiroshima and history reveals the arguments for the use of the atomic bomb do not stand. Its use was about messaging and the two bombs dropped on Japan were in reality the first shots of the nascent Cold War – pointed more at Stalin than Hirohito.

It's also clear that Truman was an utter incompetent and amateur in the realm of geopolitics and the negotiations surrounding the conclusion of the war. He comes across as a clueless buffoon which some Americans interpret as integrity and view him as the rare 'honest' politician. More could be said about his policies vis-à-vis Korea, and let's not forget even under Truman, America was backing the French in Vietnam.

Drummond praises the model of the Truman Committee – a closer read of history reveals that such committees function in order to give the perception of due diligence and accountability. In reality they serve the same purpose as the False Exposé – or even the recent January 6 investigation. There are some token indictments and 'victories' – but these are sideshows and often obfuscations that distract. Like a sleight-of-hand magic trick, the eye is turned away from the real action and the real players involved. The end result is a whitewash.

Like many presidents, the popular perception of him and much of his official record is a lie – half-truths packaged in something akin to a mythological narrative. He was power hungry and willing to sell himself out to those who could grant him the power he wanted. It started back in Missouri and his Pendergast days and led him ultimately to the White House. His Christianity was also a sham – though I will grant his one shining moment in that regard was the fact that he very early recognized Billy Graham to be something of a charlatan. On that point Truman was right and deserves recognition.

Finally, the NPR story further perpetuates the myth that American won the war. The United States won the war in Asia – there's no doubt about that. But in terms of Europe and the defeat of the Nazis – while the US played an important role to be sure, it was the USSR that defeated Hitler and paid a price far greater than the US public can even conceive. The war was not won in June 1944 – the war was won on the Eastern Front when the Nazis were stopped at Leningrad and Stalingrad and driven back West to Germany. The numbers tell the story in unmistakable terms – but the American public doesn't know the story and you're not going to hear it from mainstream outlets like NPR. And frankly, the public doesn't want to know it as it reveals 'The Good War' wasn't so good, nor so cut and dry as some would make it.

Listening to this interview, I felt like I was witness to a puff piece, and the kind of tripe put out by FOX personalities pretending to be journalists and historians.